Yard work

Happy Birthday Dean!

My cutie pie just turned 31 today.

Little Aris right after I got her out of the tub. She loves her baths.

Sloan set up all of these little Madam Alaxander dolls and put on a play for Zoe.

The last of the photo's from this weekend.

I love this one. Zoe was calling Aris like a little puppy, and Aris crawled over to her!

Today was Dean's birthday. The girls helped me pick out a shirt for Dean's gift and we also bought a yummy cheesecake (Dean's favorite). I hope he had a good day. I sure adore him. He works so hard for our little family.

Today was the second day of working after school at FBCC. So far so good. They called me on Tuesday and asked if I could fill in until they fill the position again. I am certified in CPR and all the other qualifications. I am happy to help out. I miss all the kids and the teachers, so it's fun to see everyone. Zoe loves to run and play on the playground and it's fun for Sloan to see her friends.

It's time for me to snuggle up with the birthday boy. Goodnight all!

Still fighting the bug

Well a big thank you to all who have been asking about my little Air Bear, and remembering her in your prayers. RSV (respiratory syncytal virus) is super contagious, usually produces cold like symptoms, and can turn into other things like pneumonia. It attacks your eyes, nose, throat, and lungs just like a cold. There are many kinds of RSV so your body does not become immune to it, and you can get it again and again throughout your life. In severe cases the patient can be hospitalized for respiratory distress. I got all this info off of web MD. Aris thankfully doesn't need to go to the hospital. The poor little thing however, looks and sounds terrible. She has been a very good little baby considering how yucky she is feeling, and has slept a ton over the past few days. I am hoping that all this extra sleep can help her to fight off this virus sooner.

Yesterday I scrubbed and washed and aired out the house. The weather has been so mild. I am looking forward to taking the girls to the park as soon as little Aris is feeling 100%. It feels good to have a freshly cleaned home and I even had a chance to work on my alligator illustration. It is almost finished. My friend Kirsten (Abby's Mom) came over last night. Abby and Sloan played on the computer and Kirsten watched the girls so Dean and I could go out for a little date. I feel guilty that we left a sick baby at home, and I tried to cancel but Kirsten refused. She said we needed to get out of the house. We were only gone for a little over three hours, can I tell you it was a much needed break. We had a lovely dinner, and then went to Barnes and Noble so Dean could use his Christmas gift certificate his brother Eric gave him. Aris slept most of the time we were gone and as soon as I got home she feel asleep for the night. Dean and I don't get to go out by ourselves very often so this was a very special treat.

Dean is working on the doors for his side job again. They look so good. He isn't using nails so the process is time consuming. Everything has to be glued and clamped. The result is quite lovely. I will post some photos tonight of our girls, Dean's project, and my alligator illustration. Thank you again for all the concern for my little Aris.

A little late night digging

This is before all the "extras" are added. Then I put them in a frame. All are 8"x 10".

Dean started digging this at around 5:45 in the evening. He finally called it a night a little before 1 am.

I worked on the JDRF thank you project I have been putting off for a few months now. How terrible am I?

I had fun working on this project. I talked to my sister the whole time. She is such an awesome person. She is working so hard at school, and is so focused on her future and what she wants to do with her talents. All of her hard work has paid off. If she keeps it up, she can get a full ride to school. I love her strength and perseverance, I know it's hard for her to be so far away from all that is familiar and everything she loves. I can't wait until she can visit. We will have the best hen party ever.

Dean worked on the sewer line while I was having fun talking and working on art. This house is so old, so when you get one thing fixed and working right, another thing needs to be repaired. This is just one of those things that we have been watching and dealing with over the last few months with short term fixes. It can't be put off any longer. He will have to finish up the rest of the project tomorrow.

A much needed Dr. visit

So the verdict is in. I officially have pharyngitis and bronchitis. Two things the Dr. said would not go away on their own. So she gave me two prescriptions. The first is for a Zpac. I am so happy because those little Zpacs kick the yuckies so quickly. The second was for tussin drops to help with my hacking cough. I am hoping to feel some major relief by tomorrow. I am so, well sick of being sick. I am also ready to get starting on all the art ideas that I have in my head. I know it's an excuse, but I honestly haven't felt like doing much of anything but being mommy. Even that has been a stretch. Sorry to complain so much about being sick. Thanks for putting up with me.

I do want to add that a really sweet lady that I go to church with brought ,me homemade chicken noodle soup and homemade rolls. She actually made the noodles from scratch. The meal was delicious and very appreciated more than she will ever know. My good friend Hilary watched Zoe and Sloan while I went to the Dr. and for that I am grateful. When Dean came home from work I was able to take a nice long rest and he went and picked up my med's. There is not a day that goes by that I don't count my many blessings, and he is always first on the list. I don't know what I would do without him. He is such a good husband and father. I am very blessed.

Dean's favorite taco shop

Prettttty fancy, I know, but their food was delicious.

Daddies home

Here is little Zoe waiting for Dean to pull into the driveway. "Daddies home," she says. Every time she sees a white truck with a lumber rack driving down the road she squeals, "Daddy!" I have to tell her daddy is at work and then she just kind of sits in the car seat and looks out the window again. The past two days Zoe walks around all day saying, "I want my Daddy!" Its very cute. Sloan worked so hard today on her homework and she aced her spelling pre-test. Aris was a bit fussy today, but all in all it was a good day. I was able to talk to Cindy, Deans mom. She is a wonderful person and it was so fun to talk to her.

Tonight I am going to sketch some pumpkins on wood so that I can cut them out, paint them, and put them by the front door to use as decorations. Very cheesy, I know but fun, and I am not letting any wood scraps go to waste. I have been a wee bit busy the past week, that's why I didn't post. However I finally caught up on the house work (we had a mountain of laundry), now I feel like I can relax enough to create again. I am very inspired by some art documentaries I watched this week and I plan on starting the big canvas this weekend. It's been a good day